Which French company can compete with Workplace by Facebook?
The Facebook wave has been surfing for 1.8 billion Internet users for over 15 years. The American social network has grown up and is now ready to seduce businesses with Workplace, an RSE born of its experience with individuals. To introduce our thoughts on the corporate social network: Facebook's success is first and foremost the success of a product that has become a world unto itself. It gives everyone the opportunity to interact with their network, notably through the famous Like button, clicked 4.5 billion times a day. It also gives advertisers the opportunity to promote their products to an ultra-qualified audience. Facebook's turnover in the third quarter of 2016 was $7 billion. So why attack the corporate market? Will Workplace succeed in convincing its potential customers?
SUMMARY:
The promises of Workplace by Facebook
The weaknesses of Mark Zuckerberg's new social network
This new corporate social network aims to put social interaction at the heart of organisations, but is it really an end in itself? It's true that freeing up communication between employees and between departments significantly improves employee commitment, mutual assistance, knowledge capitalisation and many other fundamental aspects. Behind this lies a company's competitiveness.
However, communication is not everything. Collaboration - getting employees to work together - is essential if a social network is to be of benefit. And on this point, Workplace by Facebook has everything to build on. To date, users are left with a functional void.
Another weakness of Workplace by Facebook is data confidentiality. How can a platform that makes tens of billions in profits from selling people's personal data inspire confidence in businesses? Data security and confidentiality are in fact the two prerequisites for businesses when choosing their Cloud platform. Although Facebook offers an excellent level of security, confidentiality is a question mark. It is for this reason that Marc Zuckerberg's company insists heavily on this point in a page dedicated to the Trust Principles of Workplace. It should also be noted that Workplace data will be hosted in the United States, and the recent election of Donald Trump suggests that the American government will not be shy about using the Patriot Act to consult our companies' data.
Jamespot, the collaborative social network
The difference between the Jamespot CSN and social media
There are now around twenty social networks specially designed for businesses. Among them is the French company Jamespot, which realised very early on that CSRs would be a powerful lever for competitiveness and improving working conditions. In fact, a CSR is not a social network like Facebook, Linkedin, Viadeo or Twitter. Jamespot is strictly a professional tool that you leave when you leave the office and which complies perfectly with CNIL requirements, unlike Workplace, which confuses the professional and personal worlds.
Instant messaging, search engine, documents and much more
In functional terms, Jamespot is a truly open collaboration tool: document creation and sharing, centralisation of knowledge (Wiki), shared diaries and tasks, creation of in-house surveys. Its powerful search engine makes it possible to find any type of information, whether it's a document, a conversation or a task. For example, it can be used to find the person(s) with the skills needed to complete a project team. Finally, Jamespot has around a hundred extensions in the form of applications that extend the functional coverage of the platform.
Beyond the tool, human support
When it comes to services, Jamespot offers genuine support, both directly and through a large number of qualified partners. Facebook, on the other hand, currently has just 15 partners, including Deloitte Digital, TBWA and the French company Revevol. Support is essential for CSR projects, both in terms of usage and platform administration. After all, a CSR is above all a human project: communication, training and user support are just as important, if not more so, than technical support.
Customising the platform
Finally, the French CSR has been designed to be as malleable as users want it to be. Unlike Workplace, Jamespot can be configured to match the very specific way in which each company operates. To do this, administrators can configure the business workflows that enable the flow of information and documents. The cascade of validations previously carried out in an EDM tool are thus perfectly integrated into the company's social universe. The hundred or so applications can be added to the common base: tender management, DevOps, innovation management, CRM integration, project management, questionnaires and customer support.
More on Jamespot, the corporate social network that accelerates digital transformation
Between Workplace by Facebook and Jamespot, which CSN should you choose? The information above and your objectives will no doubt help you answer this question. What we do know, however, is that the success of a CSR project is not based on the number of likes, but on social cohesion and improved competitiveness. Workplace and Jamespot fulfil their mission by creating commitment and links. However, to date, only Jamespot has made it possible to improve collaboration and empower employees, enabling them to reap the full benefits of a CSR.
Article translated from French